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The glass panel is fixed onto the front bezel with fourteen magnets around its perimeter.

Stick two suction cups to opposing corners of the glass panel.

To attach the suction cups we sell, first position the suction cup with the movable handle parallel to the face of the glass panel. While lightly holding the suction cup against the glass, raise the movable handle until it is parallel with the other handle.

If your suction cups refuse to stick, try cleaning both the glass panel and the suction cup with a mild solvent such as Windex.

Why use suction cups when some finger nails will do the job nicely, though a plastic spudger might work too. Start at a top corner. Prize the glass away from the case and leave finger nails in. Move the other hand along the top edge and then with finger spread peel the screen cover away. Be careful not to twist plastic I suppose, but I've had no difficulties.

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The glass panel has several positioning pins around its perimeter. To avoid shearing these pins off the glass panel, be sure to only pull straight up during removal.

Be meticulous about cleaning the LCD and the inside face of the glass panel before reinstallation, as any fingerprints or dust trapped inside will be annoyingly visible when the display is on. Placing the glass flat, inside face down, on a fresh aluminum-foil surface is a good way to keep it clean.

In order to avoid unnecessary smudges and what not I covered the LCD itself with some plastic wrap while doing the hard drive upgrade. When I reinstalled it all I needed to do was blow off a few dust particles.

Note that the front glass panel is quite light. When reassembling I found it impossible to get the LCD free of dust with the computer lying on its back. I had success with standing the computer up, tilting the LCD down as far as it goes, holding the glass panel upright in front of the computer (about 1 foot away), lightly spraying both the LCD and the back side of the glass panel with compressed air, and then attaching the glass panel (with the computer upright). It took me 5 tries before it was completely clean of dust once the front glass was on.

Note for the less experienced.. the case is plastic and the metal coarse thread screws will easily cut a new thread in the hole if you don't line up the screw in the original thread. Do this a few times and the hole will be stripped and the screw no longer tightens.

TIP:- place the screw in the hole and rotate BACKWARDS/counter clockwise (for RH threads) until you hear/feel it click/drop into the original thread then tighten the screw down. rotate it a couple times to get the feel of things. If there is any significant resistance you probably don't have the original thread.

This trick also works on the fine metal thread screws and can help avoid cross threading them.

I think you're missing this step: With the iMac lying on its back screen facing up, grasp the aluminum sides of the bezel and carefully pull it straight up. Then disconnect the microphone cable. Took me a while to figure it out.

I found it helpful to use a few lids from spaghetti sauce jars to hold the different screws. I used a sharpie to mark the inside of the lid w/ location taken from or the step number from directions. Then I placed a small magnet under the lid to hold the screws inside the lid in case I accidentally jostle something on the table. Worked great! You can also use a magnetic knife bar to line up the lids in sequential for the project.

I cut a hardwood block and drew the outline of the the iMac shape with the base as key. I then drew another two lines at 1/2” and 1” all around from the outline. This done I drilled holes for each screw (12 Outer securing the front bezel to the rear case , and 8 Inner screws securing the display panel to the rear case ). That way I don’t lose any or get them mixed up.

I avoided this step by just flipping the housing over and having it lay flat on the table. The tape on mine was on really tight, and I risking ripping the wires out of the connector if I messed with it (I didn't have some really small scissors which might have helped removing it). I would suggest either securing the body of the iMac and the housing to the table you're working on, or somehow securing the housing to the body, so that it doesn't move around accidentally, since it's only hanging on by a very thin wire at that point.

Make sure you do not pull this apart by the wires. Have a firm grasp on the plastic parts. Do not force back together. It only goes back together one way. Also, it is crucial when placing the aluminum bezel back in place that this wire is out of the way. It often gets in the way and is easily damaged.

CAUTION - To disconnect the cable, you'll need to support the bezel while you carefully extract slack microphone cable which is tightly tucked within the iMac. (I didn't have this guide's 'notes on' and missed robgendreau's warning - then inadvertently shifted the bezel and busted my microphone cable in this step.)

As robgendreau says, avoid this whole step by opening the bezel and laying it upside down above the iMac, still connected by the mic cord, just carefully. Then replace the battery, suck/blow out your dust, and carefully rotate the front bezel back over the iMac from where you removed it. No cord manipulation or damage at all!

This was the most confusing step, because the video shows MJ just tilting the monitor open, and I had a ribbon cable hooked up to it. Finally figured out that the ribbon cable was connected to the LCD temp sensor cable, and it was neatly tucked under the adjacent fan. Had to pull it pretty hard to get it out from under the fan, and then could tilt the LCD. Instructions are not completely clear about this, only that you may have to reroute the cable around the motherboard.

I agree, there is no sign of how to remove the bezel (it took me several minutes to understand it was even the bezel that came off here) in these steps (in all the guides for this model, in fact). On step 4 says remove the LCD screws, and suddenly step 6 shows innards and fans etc - !! - What about showing the bezel being removed here - super confusing and not up to usual ifixit high standards.

If you rush through the reassembly, it's very easy to miss reconnecting the LCD Temp Display cable. I just did it and one of the fans came on full-speed and stayed there through a new macOS install. Did a Google search and found mention of this symptom. At first I was thinking I switched one or more of the inverter cables but this guide shows that this is not a problem. Once I reviewed this step, the problem was obvious as was the solution. Thanks again, iFixit, for saving my nappy behind.

I can speak from experience, this cable’s a pain. It came out of where I tucked it and snuck behind one of the bottom screws, which pierced it during reassembly, afterward it would not boot properly. It’ll boot without the cable plugged in, but the fan runs near max. I’m glad it can at least be used while I wait for the replacement cable to ship. What a weird (lazy) design choice from Apple.

Removing these screws was the most difficult part of the whole job. They were tight and felt as if the heads were about to chew up. I had to press really hard and jerk the screwdriver counter clockwise to loosen them. Despite others' warnings, I managed to drop a screw when reinserting.

When reinstalling these tiny screws, consider placing the iMac upright. That way when you (inevitably) drop these tiny screws, you don't lose them in the guts of the computer where they are likely to fall into a fan.

Yes, this step is very difficult. I finally used a magnet to magnetize the torx driver, and that helped immensely...however, that was AFTER I lost the right one inside the computer. You really only need one screw to reattach the monitor connector, however.

Well, I followed the instructions for right-speaker removal and optical drive fan removal and still couldn't find the right screw. I couldn't hear it rattle either so figured it was wedged somewhere. Using an inspection mirror and flashlight, I finally found it. It had fallen down and wedged between the PCB and the plastic housing (below the ports). I was able to slide it toward the right until it came to the void left by the right speaker where it fell out into my hand.

Note that just below where you are working is the PRAM battery. If you have never replaced this, now is a good time so you won't have to open the machine up again in the near future. The battery is a CR2032.

Taking all the warnings into account about losing these tiny screws, during removal and replacement I held onto the screws tightly with a very fine needle nose tweezer. Fortunately I managed not to lose them either out or in. I highly recommend using a small gripper during this step.

This is true. There's plenty of space to work without taking the whole LCD out, either by resting it on your head, having someone hold it, or propping it on something. This makes steps 7, 8, and 10 unnecessary.

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I was able to disconnect the two connectors to the front easily. With those off, I just rotated the LCD out of the way to expose the hard drive. Again, make sure it's stabilized if you do this so that when you yank on something else you don't send it flying.

I did a HD replacement on my 24 inch iMac. It's basically the same, but it does not have disconnectable invertercables. Instead, there's just one cable that's can't be disconnected. It sits too tight to rotate the display to the degree that you can lean it against something, so the only way to get the job done was to call in an extra set of hands to hold the display while I took out the hard drive.

On the 2134 model, I found that the LCD must be lifted from the RIGHT (not the left as per the 2133 guide) - the connector wires are covered in nylon housing and it's way easier just having someone hold the LCD vertical whilst you replace the HDD, unless you have small fingers and feel like disconnecting completely ...

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With the display panel still lifted, disconnect the four inverter cables.

During reinstallation, place the four inverter cable connectors in voids between components attached to the rear panel so the display panel will sit flush.

During reassembly, the order of the inverter cables is interchangeable within each socket.

If you are replacing a hard drive and have an extra set of hands, it is possible to reach in and remove the drive without disconnecting anything but the LCD temp and display connector in the previous step with the LCD in its propped position.

For 24" iMacs, a single power cable is attached on the left side of the screen. To remove the cable, lift the screen from the right side and rotate it to the left. Remove the black plastic protector on the back of the screen and disconnect the cable.

Make sure you squeeze the two ends of the inverter cable together firmly - if not you will get yellow areas on your screen. One of my cables had not quite been clicked together, and I had to unscrew everything all over again.

That is, at each end there are two connectors (one pink/black the other light blue/dark blue on the "male" side). The "female side appear identical. Does it matter if the pink/black "male" one is connected to the wrong "female" one?

found out that taking the 2 inverter cables (top right corner underneath LCD) and mixing them will not work. I got beeping sound. So...you really need to mark the 2 white sockets with P (pink) and B (for light blue-gray color). Then everything will come out smoothly. Again... inserting the 2 inverter cable sets into the right socket DOES MATTER.

After replacing iMac’s HDD with a new one I’ve got white screen with vertical black and bluish bands on the left side and two horizontal lines dividing the display into three equal parts (see the image). Any idea what that might be?

I found it impossible to lift the speaker out without breaking the plastic mounting pin. All I can say is don't worry about it if it happens. When I put it back and tightened the screw, it seemed solidly in place.

just completed this step without breaking positioning pin. it appears a small amount of clear liquid adhesive was used to secure this top pin. i slid my hand underneath the speaker and rear case and used my other hand to guide the speaker straight up and with considerable force pulled the housing free of positioning pin without damage.

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Disconnect the SATA data cable from the logic board by carefully pulling it straight away from its socket.

The SATA connector on most iMacs tends to stick in its socket on the logic board. If you are having trouble disconnecting the SATA cable, insert a metal spudger or any other thin tool into the gap between the SATA connector and its socket and twist the spudger's shaft to safely separate the two pieces.

TIP for re installation..I had the mic cable around the left side board support when I installed the board so it was too short and had to pull the board a out again! Make sure the mic cable runs between the ODD fan and the board support.

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Lift the logic board out of the rear case, minding any cables that may get caught.

If the front edge of the logic board, under the RAM sockets, won't pull up, it's sticking on the three plastic mounting pins in the rear housing under this edge. Use a spudger under the front edge of the RAM sockets to gently push up on this edge until it clears these mounting pins.